Ahmadinejad shocks Iran by running for president
‘Organised mutiny’ as he defies order by supreme leader
TEHRAN // Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stunned the country and defied an order by its supreme leader yesterday by filing papers to run in the May presidential election.
The decision could upend an election many believed would be won by the moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani, who negotiated the nuclear deal with world powers.
Although Mr Rouhani has yet to formally register, many regarded him as a certain winner after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s recommendation in September for Mr Ahmadinejad not to run.
But many hardliners in Iran are seeking a tough-talking candidate who can stand up to Donald Trump.
Mr Ahmadinejad’s candidacy could also expose the fissures inside Iranian politics that linger since his contested 2009 re-elec- tion, which brought massive protests.
He had a rift with Ayatollah Khamenei in his final years of office, and said in October that he would abide by the order and not run. He named one of his main allies and former deputy Hamid Baghaei as a candidate, and the two men went to the interior ministry together yesterday for registration.
There, Mr Ahmadinejad said that he had registered as a candidate “only to support Baghaei”. Stunned election officials processed his paperwork.
“It was an organised mutiny against Iran’s ruling system,” said Soroush Farhadian, a pro-reformist Tehran analyst. Mr Ahmadinejad was Iran’s president for two terms from 2005 to 2013.
Under Iranian law, he is eligible to run again after four years out of office, but he remains a polarising figure, even among fellow hardliners.
Two of his former vice presidents have been jailed for corruption since he left office.
Iran’s economy suffered under heavy international sanctions during his administration because of suspicions that Tehran was secretly running a nuclear weapons programme. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. Mr Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in 2009 sparked massive protests and a sweeping crackdown in which thousands of people were detained and dozens killed.
Internationally, he is known for repeatedly questioning the scale of the Holocaust, predicting Israel’s demise and expanding Iran’s contested nuclear programme. Mr Ahmadinejad described comments by the supreme lead- er suggesting he not run as “just advice” shortly after submitting his registration. There was no immediate reaction from the Ayatollah Khamenei’s office.
By putting his name forward, analysts said Mr Ahmadinejad is trying to make disqualification of Mr Baghaei costly for the Guardian Council – the powerful election vetting body that will announce a final list of candidates by April 27.
Under Iran’s electoral system, all applicants must be vetted by the council, which is close to Ayatollah Khamenei. The supreme leader appoints half of its members.
While conservatives are worried that Mr Ahmadinejad or Mr Baghaei’s presence might split their votes, allies of Mr Rouhani are also concerned about the attraction of populist candidates with nationalist anti-establishment slogans.
Mr Baghaei, 48, was held under arrest in 2015 for almost seven months on charges that were not made public, but many suspected were related to corruption. Iran’s judiciary spokesman said last month that his case was still open. More than 120 prospective candidates, including six women and seven clerics, submitted their names on the first day of registration on Tuesday.
Registration remains open until Saturday.
The Guardian Council normally does not approve dissidents or women for the formal list.
The May 19 election is seen by many in Iran as a referendum on the 2015 nuclear agreement and its ability to improve the country’s economy, which was hobbled by international sanctions.
Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for having sanctions lifted. Since the agreement, Iran has signed multibillion-dollar contracts with airplane makers Boeing and Airbus.
But the benefits have yet to trickle down to the average Iranian, fuelling some discontent.